Improvement in tanning hides and skins



W. FIELDS & I. TOWNSEND. TANNlNG Hmfzs AND SKINS.

No. 43,013. l

Patented Ju'ne 7, 1864.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT lN TANNiNG HI'DES AND SKINS.

Specification fttrmng nnrt of Letters Patent No. 43,1 3, dated June 7, 1864.

To all u'hom it may conca-n Be it known that we, WILLI-AM FiELns `and ISRAEL Townsmen, both of Wilmington, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tanning Hides and Skins; and we do hereby declare that the folloviing is a full,clefir, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilledin the-nrt to fully understand and use the sante, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, mal-ting a part of this speeiiication, in which- Figure 1 represents a transverse vertical section of our invention; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same, partly in section.

Similar letters of reference indicate like,

parts.

This invention consists in the employment or use, for the purpose ot' tanning hides or skins, of a current of air applied to said hides or skins under a pressure of from tive to twenty or more pounds, acting in combination with the ordinary tanningiiquor in such a manner that the. compressed air is caused to circulate through the liquid, and b v its action ,the tanning-liquid is forced into the hid-es or skins, and at the Sametime by the motion of the air in the vat the hides are constautlv brought in contact. with fresh air, and' the handling;r of the hides and all the labor counected therewith can be saved.

The invention consists. also` in the application of apcrforatedpipet Xtendiugthrouglitl e tanningvat near its bottom, in combination with :in air-tight vat, airpump, and loaded valve in such a manncrthat airforeed through tliepipeintothevatwillpermentctietanning liquid therein, and itl not' be allowed to es cape. until it reaches u certain pressure, when the loaded valve opens, and by the nature of tho pump a continuous current of com-pressed air is passed through the vat, whereby the operationof tauningis considerablr facilitated.

A represents a tauningvahniaa-le of wood or any other suitable material suiciently.

strong and capabieof resisting thev action of the tanning-liquor. Itis closed b v a cover, B, which is held downby cross barsa and wedges b, or in any other convenient manner, and

which must be made so thatv it tits air-tight iinto the top of the vat. A

- vpnrpose,the vat is provided in its interior with -a rim,r,and apiece of packing placed between In order to effect this this rim and the lower edge of the cover ren ders thejoint tight; but we-do not wish to con tine ourselves to this precise mode of securing the cover, as this operation can be et'ected in many different ways, and will necessarily be. altered according to the construction-of. the vat. The hides or skins to he tanned are sus pended from a series of erossbars, C, which are supported by notched rails d, secured to the interior ofthe var, one opposite the other, ascleariy shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

l) ifsnan air-pump, which is secured to one end of the vat A, and which communicates with a pipe, E, extending throughout the entire length of the vat and close down to its` bottom, as shown in Fig. 2. This pipe is per forated with hoes c, so that the nir forced iti it by means ofthe air-pump will permeate the tanning-liquor contained. in the vat, and by its action said tanning-liquor is caused vto penetrate the hides orskins rapidly and thoronghiy.

The compressed air alone, however. although' it causes the tanning-liquor toV penetrate the hides or sirius, is not ca; .bie of doing away' with the operation of handingsnch hides or skins, and the labor and time required to com-v plete the-operation of tanning are not mate` rially reduced. In order ro cti'cct this pnrpo=e, e

we ha\ e applied to the cover, or to any'oth'er part ofthe rat above the waterline, a vaive. F, which is loaded with an adjustable weight, G, so that it can be made to blow off with any desired pressure. This valve is set to a pressnre of from tive to twenty pounds to the sanare inch, and as soon the pressure ot the air in the interior of the vat reacties this 4point. the valve opens,atu1a continuous current of compressed air passes through the vat as tout: as thc motion ofthe pump is not discontinued.

A suitable gage. ii, apphedto the side-'of the vat indicates the amount of pressure in. the same, and by the combination of the pump. perforated pipe, and loaded v alvcthe hides or skins in the vat are exposed tothe action ofncontinuous current of compressed air,.so that the handling of the hides cati be dispensed with, and the operation of tanning is 'conv pleted in a few days and with much less labor than by the' ordinaryA method of tanning in u compressed or open atmosphere, Y'

What. we claim as new, and desire to secure oy Letters Patent, itsl. The emplqvinent or use, in tanning hides or skins, ofacur iofcomproseaizap3i.d i for the pulpos@ substnniiaiy as herein shown t0 the hides or sk in combinati-Jn im im and dcscriiwd. ordinary tanning-humor, in the manner auf; im"

the pnrpos; substantiaiLv as specified. 1 Thepm'f'mntedpipellextendingthrough l die air-tgb: yat A near iL; ioom, in co1nhi- 'iizaosses; :union with :in nir-pump mad .cmi'iod valve. :AH i S. BVZINE, consti-mimi and operating in the manncrmul I JAMES MONTGOMERY. 

